Monday, June 3, 2013

Most would agree that they are all very successful, powerful, and well-spoken individuals. Yet some would argue that they are angry, loud, rude, and obnoxious.

All three of them have been known to say directly to people, “You’re an idiot.”

But is it a lack of compassion that they have, or is it tough love?

If they really cared about people and wanted the world to be a better place (as all three claim they do), then wouldn’t it be right to take the time and educate somebody, instead of being derogatory? What’s more mature?

The challenge is that all three of them are also entertainers -- just like I am. Do I cross the line when I ask you, “Are you an idiot?”

Does Tony Robbins cross the line when he says “fuck” in his presentations?

It’s the nature of our attention-grabbing and ADD culture. Unfortunately, it works. But interestingly enough, some people still don’t get it.

They think these characters are somehow evil or misinformed. No, they are actually extremely intelligent. They know exactly what they are doing, including the reaction they might be causing in you.

Does it really help to hurt people’s feelings by calling them names? What about that sticks-and-stone rhyme? If we can’t get past some authority figure calling us a superficial name, how are we ever going to understand real issues? One way to accelerate the global awakening is to lose patience for the losers.

Of course the paradox is the old motto, “all for one, and one for all”. And I say, let’s love the world together, too. So the transformation again is becoming conscious of this spectrum, then choosing where to sit for now.

A truly transformed person, right or wrong, would authentically consider whether they have or have not acted like an idiot. And even if they haven’t acted like an idiot, there is room for improvement in the way they communicate such that they don’t evoke those kinds of remarks.

At the end of the day, it’s language. It’s meant to empower, not to destroy. But whether it is empowering or destroying, it is not the communicator doing so. It is in the recipient.